Pair from West Michigan enjoying up-close look at Baseball Hall of Fame

Courtesy Photo | Milo Stewart Jr. | National Baseball Hall of Fame LibraryCody Eding is an intern in the Baseball Hall of Fame's public relations department this summer, and Megan Koeman is an intern in the Hall's collections department.

As a youngster, Megan Koeman remembers few summer nights that didn't include a television or radio tuned to the Detroit Tigers.

But the Allendale native, who laughs and says she's the son her father never had, never dreamed that one day she would have the opportunity to see not only Tigers history up close, but also baseball's greatest treasures.

Koeman is one of 22 interns working for the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The position seems natural for someone born in 1984, the last year the Tigers won a World Series.

Her family has numerous photos of her as a toddler in front of a TV showing a Tigers game, and her grandfather used to take her to games at Tiger Stadium. A foul ball off the bat of Cecil Fielder is one of her prized possessions.

"My dad had three daughters, and he likes to joke I became his son in a way," said Koeman, who did her undergraduate work at Grand Valley State and now attends Colorado State.

"My father was a diehard Tigers fan and I developed a love of the sport. But with me, it's more history and the cultural history of baseball."

Koeman, who works in the Hall's collections department cataloging old board games, is one of two West Michigan interns working there this summer. Hamilton graduate Cody Eding is part of the Hall's public relations staff.

Unlike Koeman, Eding said he wasn't necessarily raised a baseball fanatic. He developed his passion for the game when he started playing as a second grader.

"I couldn't turn down a job like this," he said. "It's once-in-a-lifetime."

Koeman's job includes keeping track of board games from the late 1800s and current popular games from companies such as APBA and Strat-O-Matic.

Because less than 10 percent of the hall's 38,000 artifacts are on display at any given time, Koeman said there is a need to take photos of board games, write condition reports, re-house samples with acid-free tissues and update the hall's catalog.

She also handled various duties for the Hall's All-Star Gala on Tuesday and will work during induction weekend July 23-26.

During that weekend, Koeman would like to meet her all-time favorite Tiger, Al Kaline.

"Just to tell him how much he meant to my grandfather, dad and me," she said.

While tracking board games is the priority, Koeman said working at the Hall brings her closer to the part of baseball she enjoys the most: drawing a line between sports and its effect on American society.

"I think it's interesting to learn how sports have impacted society and vice versa," said Koeman, who worked as an intern for the National Parks Service last summer.

"It's more than entertainment, and you see that in our culture. You can see what it was like in the 1800s and the big business it has become."

Eding will be a senior at GVSU in the fall. A journalism major, he failed to land an internship at a Texas newspaper this summer but heard about a possible spot at the Hall and became part of the PR staff.

His job includes fulfilling media requests and working with such Hall of Famers as Bob Feller, Rollie Fingers, Ozzie Smith and Gary Carter during their stops at Cooperstown.

Eding, an assistant baseball coach at Hamilton this season, said there has been no better spot to spend the summer months for anyone with a passion for baseball.